Last weekend I traveled to Austin, TX to celebrate a very special occasion – a fairytale of sorts. One of my best friends and the Founder of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults, Doug Ulman, got married! Surrounded by family and close friends, Doug and Amy Grace took their vows and celebrated the beginning of an amazing life together as husband and wife.

Watching these two amazing people commit their love to each other was a special occasion to say the least. It also that brought-up a lot of memories. As I spent the weekend in Austin reminiscing on how my best friend got to this exciting point in his life, I was reminded of a trip he and I took nearly 10 years ago to Austin, TX in April 2001. Both of us fresh out of college with a personal passion for the cancer fight, we traveled to Austin for the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s (LAF) Ride for the Roses weekend to learn more about the foundations work and meet their founder Lance Armstrong. A few miles of cycling and some conversations with the LAF’s founder Lance, Doug made one of the most important decisions of his life at that time to move to Austin, TX to work for LAF. Nothing in his decision had to do with finding a beautiful wife in Amy Grace, but had he not taken that plunge 10 years ago, these two amazing people might not have ever crossed paths and this fairytale would never be told.

Over the past decade we’ve all watched Doug accomplish some amazing things in his personal and professional life – whether he’s running marathons, inspiring thousands through his always-moving remarks, or taking his personal story and the cancer fight message of both UCF and LAF all across the world – he’s created a body of work in a short period that is quite impressive.

As amazing and impressive as all his feats have been to date, I know I speak on behalf of all of us at UCF when I say the most important decision he’s made and accomplishment he’s added to his life’s work is his recent marriage to Amy Grace! Doug and Amy Grace make the perfect match and their commitment to both each other and others is inspiring. We look forward to watching them grow together!

So as I sat in Austin, TX last week – some 10 years after Doug and my first and initial trip to Austin to learn more about the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Lance himself – it was only fitting we were all sitting in Lance’s backyard watching Doug and Amy Grace walk down the aisle to be married. Fairytales do happen!

On behalf of all of us at UCF we say congratulations Doug and Amy Grace and we wish you a fairytale life of health, happiness and possibility!